El Paso shooting suspect showing no remorse after deadly rampage

Police said Monday they believe the El Paso suspect ate at the Walmart before starting his deadly rampage.

Author:
Tegna

Published:
5:24 PM CDT August 3, 2019

Updated:
12:56 PM CDT August 6, 2019

The suspect taken into custody after a mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart that killed 22 and injured 27 has shown no remorse for the deadly attack.

Police Chief Greg Allen said during a press conference late Monday afternoon that 21-year-old Patrick Crusius has instead appeared to be in "a state of shock and confusion," but has been cooperating with investigators.

After Crusius drove more than 10 hours from Allen, Texas, to El Paso he got lost in a neighborhood then found his way to Walmart because he was hungry, Chief Allen said.

Allen said they believe the suspect ate at the Walmart before his deadly rampage.

Chief Allen said they are still investigating whether Walmart was the suspect's intended target all along.

Records show Crusius has been booked into the El Paso County Jail on capital murder charges. District Attorney Jaime Esparza said authorities would be seeking the death penalty.

Authorities said they are also investigating a manifesto written by Crusius that indicates the nexus to a potential hate crime. The document was posted online shortly before the shooting.

El Paso police Sgt. Robert Gomez said the suspect, who used a rifle, was arrested without incident.

FBI Special Agent Emmerson Buie said federal agents have completed three search warrants in relation to the case around Crusio's hometown in Allen, Texas. U.S Attorney John Bash said the case is being treated as domestic terrorism. Federal officials are looking to bring forward possible federal hate crime charges as well as federal firearms charges, and the domestic terrorism fusion unit at the FBI had been activated to assist in the investigation.

Police in the suspect's hometown said Sunday their contact with him "can be described as limited at best."

Allen police said the suspect had been reported as a juvenile runaway in 2014 but returned home roughly a half-hour later. He was also among eight students on a school bus involved in a minor crash in 2016 that resulted in no injuries.

Allen police said their last involvement with him came in March, when he reported a false residential alarm at his grandparents' home.

Collin College released a statement Saturday evening confirming that a student named Patrick Crusius attended the community college from fall 2017 through spring 2019.

"Collin College is prepared to cooperate fully with state and federal authorities in their investigation of this senseless tragedy. We join the governor and all Texans in expressing our heartfelt concern for the victims of the shooting and their loved ones," Collin College District President Dr. Neil Matkin said in a statement.